Perforated record card



Jan. 9, 1951 1 M, MCCQRWCK f 2,537,778

PERFORATED RECORD CARD Filed Feb. 18, 1948 [N VEN TOR. JOHN M. Mc CORMICK BY CPL SLL- ATTOKA/fy Patented Jan. 9, 1951 PERFORATED RECORD CARD John M. McCormick, Brookview, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., New York, N` Y., a corporation of Delaware Application klebruary 1s, 194s, serial No. 9,311

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the entering of data in the perforated record cards employed in the control of statistical, 'accounting and llike machines; and it includes an improved card, and an improved method of simply and accurately perforating said cards.

In the well known card controlled accounting systems, such as the Powers and the Hollerith systems, data is recorded by the perforating or marking of certain index positions on the recw ord cards. In particular situations it is desirable to perforate or mark said cards in the eld, or Aat the source of data. Various means, heretofore, have been utilized to accomplish this.

One of said means for recording data at the source has been the well known Powers hand punch, as disclosed in Patent 2,307,617 to Karl J. Braun, which is both portable and inexpensive. However, in employing the hand punch for re- 'cording data at a source, the use of perforated eliminating the possibility of error encountered (Cl. 23S-61.12")

when marked data is converted to perforated data by machine or a machine operator.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined detail description of specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 illustrates lthe well known Powers card,

having a field of index positions in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the index positions in accordance with the field illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4 4 in Fig. 1, and showing an index posi-tion being removed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a card field having an alternative form of index positions;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a card i. record Cards is limited to those departments or 'o sensing chamber, having therein a record card in persons provided with one of said punches. It is *aCCo'rdanoel/Vth the form Shown in Fg- 25 ano conceivable, therefore, that situations may arise Fg- 6 Shows that part of the ndex postlons when data cannot be so recorded. Which aots as @Support- Another of said recording means has been the o In more demo and as Shown m F1g 1f the Wou Wen known marked sensing, means as disclosed known Powers record card I D has recorded therein Patent 1,573.1'74 to W. W. Lasker, Jr., wherein in dat@ .as represented by perforations Il, said the certain index positions of record cards are perforations being of the typo rendered by a marked with data representations of an e1ectrikey punch A olo '2 of index position? '3 in sally Conductive nature. Marking of a record by m sald record card is reserved for the entering of vthis means, however, has proved cumbersome and dota ot o Source Where the agency of a key punch dependent upon the provision of a suitable elecor hand tool is unoyoaolo or inconvenient; AS trically conductive marking material, and often TS more reooly Soon m Flg 21 oooh molex posltion vresults in error during subsequent sensing when '3 lo provlooo Wlth o prodooneo ono romoyople said marking material fails to isolate itself in Pol'tlo'n 4 formed by the Soalngsf Retam' selected ones of said index positions. Also, in mg Webs lo however mamtam Sold removable order to be useful for tabulating operations, it portion '4 integral with the moord Card 'o' often has been necessary to Convert the .marked, Disposed in the center of each removable portion data on the original record cards to correspond- "4 :is a Prepunohod holo I7-, ing perforated dota in permanent record cards' im As will be better seen 1n Fig. 3, the insertion of Faulty ymarking oi said original record cards con- .the point lo of o pencil o1' Stylus in the hole n sequonuy has resulted in the erroneous perforand a subsequent application of pressure to Said ating of Said permanent record Cards. pencil will rupture simultaneously the aforemen- In View of the foregoing it is one object of the tioned retaining webs I6. Itis to be noted that present invention to provide an improved record 'the Simultaneous rupturins 0f Said retaining card for subsequent tabulating operations, in Webs and the resulting Subs'mtaly Perfect Ilwhich data, may be entered Simply and aoourotely 'dex perforation I9 (see Figs. 2 and 3) are directly without the agency of perforating machines, ,attributable to the centrally7 dSpOsed 131'@- hand punches, or marking materials, punched hole i1 and the manner in which it It is another object of the present invention to equally distributes 2m applied pressure. If Said provide an improved record card for tabulating 'webs i6 were not ruptured simultaneously, as purposes, in which areas comprising the index would be the case if no hole l1 were provided, positions are removable, in order that perforated peeling about the DBTOIEVDOH 19 and Othel Card data may be entered in said record simply and deformities would be effected, which, although accurately with the aid of an acuminate instruslight, would be suicient for aiecting the eiTecment, such as a pencil. tive thickness of the said card H). As generally It is another object of the present invention to known in the punched-card art, achange in card provide an original and permanent record card thickness often results in card feeding diCulteS. fortabulating purposes, wherein perforated data It will be clear that the scarngs may be in may be entered ata source of said data, thereby curved or straight lines in order to provide removable portions of any shape. An alternative A hereinbefore form, as shown in Fig. 4, provides a rectangular removable portion 20, formed by scarflngs 2|, and maintained integral With the record card I by retaining webs 22. A pre-punched hole 23 is adapted to receive the point of a pencil, as did hole II in Fig. 3. In a manner similar to that hereinabove described, the application of pressure to said pencil removes said portion to form a clear and accurately disposed rectangular perforation 24.

Most mechanical sensing mechanisms similar to that shown in Patent 2,044,119 to W. W. Lasker are such that sensing pins are permitted to pass through a record card at index positions which have been previously perforated. Those pins related to non-perforated index positions are depressed under spring tension by said record card. A means is provided to prevent these depressed or inactive pins from causing the rupture of the above mentioned retaining webs I6, thereby also preventing the entry of inaccurate perforations in said record card I9. As is seen in Fig. 2, the removable portion I4 is of an oval or elliptical shape. Now with reference to Fig. 5 it is seen that when the record card I0 is in the sensing chamber and is between the upper and lower plates 26 and 2i, respectively, the major axis of the elliptical portion I4 is greater than the diameter of the upper plate hole 2S.

In Fig. 6, the shaded portion 29 represents the difference in area between the upper plate hole -28 and the removable portion I4. Said shaded portion '29, in engaging the upper plate 20 during the sensing operation, affords a support to the retaining webs I5. In this manner the depressed pins 30, under tension of springs 3l, are prevented from rupturing said retaining webs and thereby entering inaccurate data in said record card. It will be seen that if no such support were provided, said retainng webs I6 would necessarily have to be wider for withstanding the pressure of said yieldable pins It will also be seen that wider webs would be less likely to fracture simultaneously, and would be more likely to cause the aforementioned peeling about the perforation I9 and other card deformities.

While I have described what I consider to be highly desirable embodiments of my invention, it is obvious that many changes in form could be made without departing from my invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to the exact .form herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of my invention as set forth, and as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A card adapted toI be perforated with index perforations and for use in card controlled machines, having a plurality of index positions, each of said positions comprising a portion retained integral with said card by rupturable connections, and a centrally disposed pre-punched hole for facilitating the rupture of said connections and, therefore, the removal of said portion.

2. A card adapted to be perforated with index perforations and for use in card controlled machines, having a plurality of index positions, scariings about each of said positions for rendering portions thereof manually removable to provide index perforations, and centrally disposed pre-punched holes in the removable portions for facilitating the removal thereof and effecting substantially perfect index perforations.

3. In a card adapted to be manually perforated with index perforations and for use in card controlled machines, an index field, a plurality of index positions in said field, each index position having a portion thereof predefined by a plurality of scarfings and retained integral with said card by webs formed between said plurality of scarfings, and a pre-punched centrally disposed hole in the predefined portion for effecting the equal distribution of an applied pressure to the said webs.

4. A card for controlling the operation of tabulating machines and in which perforated data. may be entered manually, having in an index field thereof, a plurality of index positions, each of said positions comprising a portion predefined by a plurality of scarngs and retained integral with said card by webs formed between said scarfings, said webs being rupturable for removing said portion to thereby form an index perforation, and a pre-punched centrally disposed hole in the predefined portion and effective for distributing an applied pressure equally to said Webs to thereby effect the simultaneous rupture thereof.

5. A perforated record card adapted to be operated on by a sensing means including a plurality of reciprocable and yieldable sensing elements, upper and lower plates for holding said card therebetween during a sensing operation and having aligned holes therein corresponding to and for the guidance of said sensing elements, said record card having in an index field thereof a plurality of index positions corresponding to sai d plurality of holes and said sensing elements, said index positions each having a portion thereof predefined and rendered removable by a plurality of scarfings, webs formed by said scarngs and effective for retaining the removable portion integral with said card, said webs being rupturable for removing said portion to thereby form an index perforation, and said removable portion being greater in area than the corresponding holes in said plates and thus self supported for resisting the rupture of said webs by the corresponding sensing element during a sensing operation.

6. The method of manually entering perforated data in a record card having a plurality of index positions. consisting in predefining a portion of each said index positions with a plurality of scarfings, maintaining webs between said scarfings for retaining the predefined portions integral with said card, pre-punching centrally disposed holes in said predefined portions, and inserting a pointed instrument in selected ones of said pre-punched holes and applying pressure thereto for rupturing simultaneously the webs between the scarf-ings about the said selected holes to thereby effect substantially perfect datal perforations.

J OHN M. MCCORMICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,000,851 Knell May 7, 1935 2,044,119 Lasker June 16, 1936 2,244,231 Armbruster June 3, 1941 2,307,617 Braun Jan. 5, 1943 2,315,737 Ross Apr. 6, 1943 

